A week before watching The Comedy I watched Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation, a film in which the character Charlie Kaufman struggles to write a screenplay about an eccentric and fairly unlikeable man. No plot, no character development, no overcoming obstacles, and a main character the audience is likely to hate. Who would watch such a film? Would it even be considered a "proper" film, heA week before watching The Comedy I watched Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation, a film in which the character Charlie Kaufman struggles to write a screenplay about an eccentric and fairly unlikeable man. No plot, no character development, no overcoming obstacles, and a main character the audience is likely to hate. Who would watch such a film? Would it even be considered a "proper" film, he wonders. "No! What a terrible idea for a movie!" everyone tells him and so, ultimately, Adaptation turns into your standard Hollywood movie, complete with car chases, gun fights, and people being eaten by alligators.

It got me wondering "Could such a film be made? Has anyone made a film like that?" Turns out, they did and it's called the Comedy. If anything, it's a brave film for daring to go against all the Screenwriting 101 conventions, all the rules everyone insists writers stick to. It's a subtle film, a dark film, and the kind of movie you need to watch in its entirety and then, when it's over, sit there and wonder "what the hell did I just watch?" And then a day or two later you find yourself thinking about it again. *That*, for me, is an indication that I've watched a pretty brilliant film.…Expand

I really like this movie. It is a strange one, but it is not every day when something like this comes down the pike. The comedy is a movie might make you a little annoyed at times, but after it, you realize it is a good kind of annoyance.

This movie is mind-bendingly brilliant. It has such a personality I felt like I was somehow in this "story." A man who seems to resent life getting into random situations while waiting for his father to die. No real plot to follow. This movie has stuck with me ever since I watched it, and has to be one of the best films of recent years. Tim Heidecker showed me he isn't about all aboutThis movie is mind-bendingly brilliant. It has such a personality I felt like I was somehow in this "story." A man who seems to resent life getting into random situations while waiting for his father to die. No real plot to follow. This movie has stuck with me ever since I watched it, and has to be one of the best films of recent years. Tim Heidecker showed me he isn't about all about stupidity/stoner comedy and fills this role perfectly.…Expand

The Comedy, alongside The Master, was far and away the best film of last year. The low critic reviews are a little suprising, but not so much when we consider Kaufman's tragically low rating of 67 for Synechdoche New York. Sometimes they get it wrong. Firstly, Heidecker's turn as the lead in a serious film was criminally passed over. Naturalistic, realistic acting appears to be becoming aThe Comedy, alongside The Master, was far and away the best film of last year. The low critic reviews are a little suprising, but not so much when we consider Kaufman's tragically low rating of 67 for Synechdoche New York. Sometimes they get it wrong. Firstly, Heidecker's turn as the lead in a serious film was criminally passed over. Naturalistic, realistic acting appears to be becoming a thing of the past in mainstream film, so his portrayal in this is refreshing. The movie is not a comedy, but it is very funny in parts, thanks mainly to Tim's cruel deadpan and his chemistry with Eric Wareheim. It's a character study, and one that finally targets the apathy and emotional distance of aging 30 year olds who aren't willing or able to let go of their youth or play the 'game.' Looking forward to seeing another film from the director, who has the potential of being a darker harsher Noah Baumbach.…Expand

At some point, he finds himself drifting around a swimming pool, and it's tempting to think of Dustin Hoffman sinking to the bottom of the deep end in "The Graduate." But there's a difference. Swanson's pool is empty.

The film retreads much of the anti-comedic territory already bulldozed in Heidecker and Wareheim's own "Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie," retaining the scatological flavor but none of the surrealism.

If it weren't for Kate Lyn Sheil, who has a couple of scenes as a blase Brooklyn waitress inexplicably ending up in the protagonist's bed, 'The Comedy' might well have qualified as the worst film of 2012.